Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;
And whosoever {Or, reeleth}erreth thereby is not wise.
The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion:
He that {Or, angereth himself against him}provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own {Hebrew: soul.}life.
It is an honor for a man to {Or, cease}keep aloof from strife;
But every fool will be quarrelling.
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
{Or, Therefore when he seeketh in harvest, there shall be nothing}Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
Most men will proclaim every one his own kindness;
But a faithful man who can find?
A righteous man that walketh in his integrity,
Blessed are his children after him.
A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment
{Or, Winnoweth}Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin?
{Hebrew: A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.}Diverse weights, and diverse measures,
Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
Even a child maketh himself known by his doings,
Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Jehovah hath made even both of them.
Love not sleep, let thou come to poverty;
Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer;
But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
There is gold, and abundance of rubies;
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
And {Or, take a pledge of him}hold him in pledge that is surety for {Another reading is, a foreign woman.}foreigners.
Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man;
But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Every purpose is established by counsel;
And by wise guidance make thou war.
He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets;
Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips.
Whoso curseth his father or his mother,
His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;
But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Say not thou, I will recompense evil:
Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.
Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah;
And {Hebrew: a balance of deceit.}a false balance is not good.
A man's goings are of Jehovah;
How then can man understand his way?
It is a snare to a man {Or, rashly to utter holy words Or, to devour that which is holy}rashly to say, It is holy,
And after vows to make inquiry.
A wise king winnoweth the wicked,
And bringeth the threshing- wheel over them.
The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah,
Searching all his innermost parts.
Kindness and truth preserve the king;
And {Or, he upholdeth his throne}his throne is upholden by kindness.
The glory of young men is their strength;
And the beauty of old men is the hoary head.
Stripes that wound cleanse away evil;
And strokes reach the innermost parts.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 20,15 Spr 20,15
She is more precious than rubies:And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
For wisdom is better than rubies;And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it.
The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver:The heart of the wicked is little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many;But the foolish die for lack of {Hebrew: heart.}understanding.
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge;But the heart of the foolish {Or, is not stedfast (or, right)}doeth not so.
A man hath joy in the answer of his mouth;And a word in due season, how good is it!
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.
The wise in heart shall be called prudent;And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb,Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
As {Or, a nose-ring}an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold,So is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;Neither is it found in the land of the living.
The deep saith, It is not in me;And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for {Or, treasure}gold,Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,With the precious {Or, beryl}onyx, or the sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it,Neither shall it be exchanged for {Or, vessels}jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal:Yea, the price of wisdom is above {Or, red coral Or, pearls}rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he {Or, gave ear}pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
The Preacher sought to find out {Hebrew: words of delight.}acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth.
The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the {Or, collectors of sentences}masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, {Isaiah 52:7}How beautiful are the feet of them that bring {Or, a gospel}glad tidings of good things!
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for {Greek: the building up of the need.}edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.